The Christman Building in Lansing, Michigan, recently received two LEED Platinum ratings. SmithGroup designed the project, a renovation and restoration of the 1928 Mutual Building. Photo: Gene Meadows, Meadows & Co. Photography Extra Large Image

Baltimore · 2008.0617
RTKL Associates Inc. has named Brent J. Lehmkuhl, PE, RCDD, and Robert B. Williams, CCM, CxA, as principals. Based in the Baltimore, Maryland, office, both are engineers with the firm's applied technology group.

Lehmkuhl has 12 years of electrical engineering experience and has been involved in designing electrical systems for government, corporate and educational facilities. He is currently serving as the lead engineer for a five-story laboratory and office building at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.

Williams is a mechanical engineer and has been with the firm for 16 years. He has installed mechanical systems in such buildings as the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia, and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture in Baltimore.

Chicago · 2008.0616
David Grout has rejoined Chicago, Illinois-based architecture, interior design, and product design firm Gary Lee Partners as national design principal and associate partner. Grout has over 18 years of experience on commercial, residential, and hospitality design projects. Recently he has focused on the hospitality sector, designing for such clients as Elysian Hotels and Resorts, Hotel Jerome in Aspen, and Charlie Trotter Restaurants.

London · 2008.0613
Architecture firm Carmody Groarke of London, United Kingdom, has revealed its design for the NLA Sky Walk, a two-story ramped walkway that will be erected in central London during the London Festival of Architecture, July 4-6, 2008. The 160-meter- (525-foot-) long installation, commissioned by New London Architecture, will zigzag across Montague Place, creating a series of new public spaces behind the British Museum and providing space for performances, exhibitions, and events.

The temporary promenade will be four meters (13 feet) high at its peak. It will vary in height, shape, and profile, and will knit into the existing landscape, with plane trees puncturing the stage. The meandering form will allow pedestrians to explore the architectural detail of the surrounding buildings and experience new views of Bedford and Russell Square.

The walkway will be constructed of a portable staging system made of reusable components and covered in a translucent black mesh. Arup is serving as structural engineer for the project.

Rancho Mirage · 2008.0612
The Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa recently opened in Rancho Mirage, California, after a $300 million expansion project. The Orlando, Florida, office of VOA Associates Incorporated served as design architect for the 422,000-square-foot (39,200-square-meter) project, which included a new 16-story hotel, spa, entertainment, and conference complex, as well as a major renovation of the existing casino facility.

The 340 guest rooms provide views of the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains. The decor features earth tones and natural colors. Managing principal Jonathan F. Douglas, AIA, served as principal-in-charge for VOA.

Karawaci · 2008.0611
RED Design Group of Melbourne, Australia, has begun work on the refurbishment of the Matahari Department Store in Karawaci, Indonesia, near Jakarta. The store will serve as the prototype for a new design concept that will then be applied to another four stores over the next six months.

The project encompasses redesign of the brand and corporate identity, store layout, shopfront, interior design "look and feel," fixtures, focal wall design, lighting, visual merchandising approach, and design standards for "brand shops" within the store. Design principal Rob Ovcaric and creative director Colin Bell are leading RED's creative team.

Austin · 2008.0611
LEED Platinum certification has been given to an Austin, Texas, home designed by LaVerne A. Williams, AIA, LEED AP, founder and CEO of Environment Associates, Architects and Consultants of Houston.

The 3,080-square-foot (290-square-meter) house incorporates passive cooling for summer and direct-gain passive solar heating for winter. Windows are sized and placed to facilitate cross-ventilation and daylighting. Roof overhangs, interior mass, and shading porches also contribute to comfortable indoor temperatures. A high-efficiency heating and cooling system serves as a backup when needed.

Indoor features include mud-plastered AAC walls, solid-wood finish materials; hardwood, tile, and linoleum flooring; clay paints and finishes without VOCs; and low-E insulated glass windows. A 20,000-gallon (75,700-liter) rainwater harvesting system provides all the home's water. Most building products were manufactured within 500 miles (805 kilometers) of the site.

A house in Hunt, Texas, designed by Williams recently received LEED Silver certification.

San Francisco · 2008.0607
Onslow "Rudy" Rudolph, the founder of Rudolph and Sletten, Inc., one of the largest construction firms on the West Coast, died in San Francisco, California, on June 7, 2008, at age 84.

Rudolph was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and was a fourth-generation builder. In 1959 he formed a small contracting company — O.H. Rudolph, General Contractor — based out of his garage in Los Altos, California. Kenneth G. Sletten joined as partner in 1962.

Rudolph served as CEO and president of the Redwood City-based company for 33 years, and became emeritus chairman of the board in 2003. Rudolph and Sletten was acquired in 2005 by Perini Corporation, and continues to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary, with more than $1.3 billion in projects currently underway.

The firm built some of Silicon Valley's first clean rooms, micro-processing plants, and biotech laboratories. The company's past projects include the Apple Campus, Hewlett-Packard world headquarters, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Skywalker Ranch, Stanford Shopping Center, the first AMD Campus, the first Intel campus, PARC (Xerox), San Jose City Hall, and a top-secret dock for Howard Hughes Glomar Explorer.

Lansing · 2008.0605
The Christman Building (pictured above) in downtown Lansing, Michigan, has received LEED Platinum certifications in two categories: Core and Shell (CS) and Commercial Interiors (CI). It is the first building ever to receive dual LEED Platinum ratings. The project's sustainable features include optimized energy performance, daylighting, construction waste management, and water use reduction.

National architecture and engineering firm SmithGroup designed the project, which rehabilitated the historic 1928 Mutual Building to house the national headquarters of the Christman Company, a construction services firm. The interior was renovated into Class A office space for multiple tenants. New construction included a partial sixth-floor addition to accommodate conference and meeting facilities.

Exterior restoration of the building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, included analysis and rebuilding of deteriorated limestone and brick masonry, restoration of wood double-hung windows, replacement of steel windows with new matching windows, and restoration of the original bronze door and window entry system, as well as the main stairway, historic woodwork, Pewabic tile, and stone floors.

SmithGroup provided architectural design; lighting and interior design; mechanical, electrical, and structural engineering; historic preservation design; LEED certification; and State Historic Tax Application services for the project. Principal D. Brooke Smith, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, of the firm's Detroit office served as project manager.

Birmingham · 2008.0605
The renovation of the historic Rotunda building in central Birmingham, United Kingdom, is complete. Glenn Howells Architects of Birmingham and London designed the adaptive reuse project, which converted the Grade II listed 1960s office block for residential use. The restored cylindrical tower now houses 234 apartments, with different city views from every unit.

Another of the firm's projects, a new flagship building for the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, has also been completed.

New York · 2008.0605
New midtown Manhattan offices for Switzerland-based COFRA Group have been completed. The New York City office of Perkins + Will designed the 30,000-square-foot (2,800-square-meter) project to meet LEED Gold standards. Certification is pending.

Sustainable design features in the 29th-floor offices include recycled-denim insulation, locally sourced wood paneling, water-conserving fixtures, and an automatic shading system. Glass partitions allow penetration of daylight, and 30 percent of the glass system is made from post-consumer recycled material.

The design team included Joan Blumenfeld, FAIA, LEED, design principal at Perkins + Will. New York City-based WB Engineers designed the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing components of the project, and Cauldwell Wingate of New York served as general contractor.

Brooklyn · 2008.0605
Meltzer/ Mandl Architects, P.C. has revealed its design for a mixed-use residential development in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The seven-story glass-and-masonry building will contain 113 homes totaling 118,000 square feet (11,000 square meters). The project also includes 5,000 square feet (500 square meters) of ground-level retail space, 18,000 square feet (1,700 square meters) of basement-level retail space, and a 140-vehicle parking area.

The design establishes a new street wall in the formerly industrial neighborhood, bringing the building right to the property line. The parking area will be out of view behind the building. Top-floor residences will have roof terraces with views of Manhattan.

The building integrates such sustainable elements as low-emissivity (low-E) glass and a high-efficiency exterior panelized wall system with rain screen technology. Construction is slated to begin in June 2008.

Granada Hills · 2008.0602
The Los Angeles Unified School District has broken ground for the $73 million Valley Region High School No. 4 in Granada Hills, California. Irvine-based gkkworks, an architecture and construction services firm, designed the 143,000-square-foot (13,300-square-meter) school to accommodate a student population of about 1,200. The new school is expected to relieve overcrowding at four existing high schools.

Located on an 8.9-acre (3.6-hectare) site, the campus will have a three-story building with 45 classrooms clustered into three small learning communities; a two-story administration building that will include a cafeteria and kitchen, 132-seat multipurpose room with stage, music room, library, and counseling offices; and a gymnasium. All buildings will have structural steel frames.

Access to the gymnasium and athletic fields outside of regular school hours is expected to benefit the surrounding neighborhood.

Completion is scheduled for December 2010. Guillermo Aguilar, AIA, served as principal-in-charge for gkkworks. The firm has served as architect for several L.A. schools and is currently designing others.

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